Writing music for me – Atmosphere 1

I wrote this a few months ago, in between commercial projects. I love my regular work, but the opportunity for experimentation can be limited. I wanted to write something unlike my previous work, with a focus on texture, timbre, and space.

I love the idea of taking a sound and transforming it into something different. In this case, I decided to use mostly non-western instruments, due to their unusual timbre, and transform them through unusual reverb and delay effects.

In some instances the transformation was only slight. The tar (Persian plucked string instrument) which opens this piece is still recognisable, as is the dilruba (bowed indian instrument – I used three of these, panned left, right, and centre in the speakers). However, the qanun (middle eastern plucked string instrument) is transformed into a drone-like sound in the closing minute of the track.

This track is probably my favourite on the album, in part due to the joy I experienced in creating it. Up until that point I hadn’t written anything specifically for myself in probably over a year, and I was able to try out some new ideas and techniques without any external influence. Also, that dilruba trio does sound bloody lovely!